


The Professor and the Madman

by BrownGirlDreams



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: F/M, Gingerflower, Gingerrose - Freeform, Implied past Hux/Phasma, Implied past Rose/Finn, Minor Ben Solo/Rey, No smut because I just don't have the skill yet. Soz yall, Past Child Abuse, Roux - Freeform, Star Wars AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:21:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24676828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrownGirlDreams/pseuds/BrownGirlDreams
Summary: Rose Tico is a trailblazing engineering professor, talented, serious, and beautiful. Armitage Hux is New Republic College’s visiting resident artist. He is reputed to have wild ways, a disregard for convention, and a troubled past. His work has taken a back seat to his complicated personal life. Their first meeting ends in disaster, but can they grow in understanding and love?
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Rose Tico
Comments: 12
Kudos: 33
Collections: GingerRoseWeek2020





	1. "An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest."

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first complete work of fanfiction and good lord, it felt enormous. It's finished but I never quite wrapped my head around semicolons or commas. This is unbeta-d, so caveat emptor. Feel free to let me know if there are any true howlers in the story. The characterizations may be a bit off, but let's just go with it because I'm exhausted by my own perfectionism. I really tried! Happy Reading and thanks for checking this out!

Professor Rose Tico wanted to scream. Campus-wide administrative meetings had that effect on her. She loved New Republic College. She loved its old brick buildings and the lush lawns after the spring rain, but had no patience for the finer points of policy and decision making, particularly when decisions seemed misguided. This accounted for her stringent tone when venting to her colleague.

“Look, I know that in some crazy way, this is apparently good for campus, but I just cannot get behind inviting a “celebrity” when we already have dozens of brilliant faculty here. It’s a waste of resources. It’s maddening that no one considers that. That's what I object to most.”

Professor Skywalker smiled at her diminutive friend. Rose Tico was never one to silence her opinions, however unpopular or unwelcome. If she found something especially unfair, she was not one to let things go, particularly if someone was neglected or unjustly overlooked by it.

“I can only speak for the Humanities and Arts department, but we’re actually quite looking forward to our visiting artist,” Rey remarked, lifting her face to the warm sun. “It’ll make things a little exciting around here. I think we’re getting too stodgy.”

“I think we’re plenty exciting and anyway, we’re talking about paintings. It’s not like he’s going to leave us with any of them.” objected Rose. “If he did we might be able to sell them and put funds towards renovations.”

“Spoken like a true engineer”, Rey said with a wry smile.

“Anyway, this hair-brained idea has Ben Solo written all over it, so I should have known you’d be all over it too.“

“I won’t have you say a word against, Ben.” Ray chided in clipped tones. “He’s been an excellent addition to University Advancement. You know he helped you immensely with fundraising for the town's new community center. I remember you singing his praises then.”

“That’s different, the center is necessary and useful,” Rose argued. “That center will potentially serve the surrounding community ages after you and I are both gone.”

The women fell into silence. Rose reflected that perhaps she wasn’t being exactly fair. Ben Solo had indeed been invaluable to her as he was far more adept at asking point blank for donations and gifts. He also had a remarkable gift for sounding out who’d be in the right frame of mind to donate, sometimes staggering amounts. It also helped that he was the son of University President Organa. That had given her a direct link to power when it was crucially necessary for her work.

On a personal level, she knew that Ben and Rey were a couple. They were very discreet, but Rey was positively giddy, it was slightly disconcerting to witness since it was so unexpected. They’d seemed to ignore each other studiously, until they definitely didn’t.

“You know you’d go along with anything he’d suggest. You’re besotted, it’s quite shocking really.” Rose said, only half-joking.

Rey interrupted her, gently pushing her as they walked. “It’s going to be amazing. You’ll see and we all stand to benefit, even if the engineering department isn’t directly involved. As for Ben, 'He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.'" Rey looked at Rose and winked, her expression teasing.

Rose rolled her eyes. When Skywalker brought the Brontes into anything it was impossible to reason with her. They stopped in front of a large breezeway that divided the humanities buildings from the engineering wing.

“I’m off. I’ve got students coming for office hours.”

Rose gave Professor Skywalk a small hug as they parted ways.

“But you are coming to the welcoming reception?” Ray called out after Rose’s retreating back. “However much you object? Ben knew this fellow for a time, but they’re not exactly close, so reinforcements would be welcome!”

Rose waved her hand, not agreeing to anything. She was still a bit miffed at the injustice of it all. The visiting artist would be allocated a workspace and housing on top of his salary. She knew four or five very talented adjuncts who would kill for those privileges and deserved them more to boot. They were the ones slaving away on the students currently attending classes. It really wasn’t right that they should be passed over for a bit of flash, however exciting.

University politics were the most frustrating aspect of Rose Tico’s job, even under the benevolent leadership of President Organa. In a large bureaucracy, someone always seemed to get shafted, and too often it was those people who did the most work but had the least power. 

It's just too unfair, Rose thought to herself, sighing. 


	2. "You are engineers of human souls."

Professor Tico had a few chili peppers next to her name on rate my professors dot com. She was hard to miss as one of the few young female lecturers of color in the engineering department. Her reviews tended to be consistent with a few pointed, if outlandish complaints and the odd extravagant compliment.

**“Don’t get it twisted, the skirts and heals mean nothing. She knows her stuff.”**

**“Worst class of my life. Total ballbuster. I noped right out of there!”**

**“What is she even doing here? Shouldn’t she be in Asian studies or something?”**

**“Face always beat for the gods. Okay! I see you, Dr. Tico!”**

Professor Tico was a good teacher. Her passion for engineering was evident in everything she did. Her newest research focus was on sustainable engineering to help manufacture homes in the developing world and to supply affordable, sustainable residences locally. 

What she thought of her true life’s work was to influence future engineers to consider beauty along with function. She saw herself building a better world, structure by structure, mind by mind. 

Students who left her classroom were given all the benefits of her vision and ingenuity; she was more fervent in these ideas than anything else in her life. Her lectures on these topics were impassioned in a way not often found in her discipline.

_“We cannot save the world perhaps but consider how it is our privilege to lay the very foundations on which peace and safety may be pursued. Livable, affordable housing is a basic human need and one of the most challenging resources for the most marginalized to obtain. See the work that you do as meaningful beyond compensation because it has the capacity to create a better world. There are many ways to be a changemaker, consider that for some of you, this is the way.”_

Rose Tico understood the importance of security as the daughter of immigrants and hard scrapers. Her family were rendered refugees by a war that tore their native country and its infrastructure apart. 

As a result, Rose never took her education or her career for granted. Her parents worked menial jobs so that she and her sister could have dreams and Rose pursued those dreams with a vengeance. After bearing witness to so much destruction so early, Rose found healing in her ability to build and renew. 

She realized she could bring order to a chaotic world. She wanted other children to have the privilege of dreams. She built her whole life around her talent for design and it had given her much in return. Her time, love, and energy were sunk into her work. There were very few things in her life that occupied her so thoroughly.

One of these precious things was Paige, her sister. She was an air force pilot who was married to another flyer more audacious than even herself. The Damerons were a bit foolhardy in Rose’s opinion but full of fun. Rose enjoyed her visits to them immensely-mostly.

She wished they'd give up trying to find her a partner. It invariably ended awkwardly and after experiencing so much success in most areas of her life, it was a something of an ego blow to be so bad at romantic relationships.

“Rosie, let Poe set you up.” 

“Paige, not this again.” Rose groaned as she sat in her sister’s living room. She put a cushion over her face, cringing at her memories. “Do you remember what happened last time with Finn? No thanks. Not everyone can find what you have.”

“She’s right”, called Poe from the kitchen, “Not everyone can be as lucky as you are, honey!”

The sisters exchanged a look and burst into laughter. A confused Poe peeked into the living room,

“What? I’m serious. I’m pretty great, right?” His arms held wide to showcase his person.

The women redoubled their laughter.

*************

Students also rampantly speculated about Professor Tico’s love life. They seemed very intent on imagining a connection for her with faculty or staff, however wildly inappropriate, yet nothing ever really took hold, much to their disappointment.

_“Do you think she even likes men?’_

_“They’re scared of her.”_

_“You mean you’re scared of her.”_

_“Remember, when yall thought Ben Solo had a shot?”_

_“I love a tall and a small.”_

_“I hear Professor Skywalker and Mr. Solo are hooking up.”_

_“NO!”_

_“Yes!”_

Rose was a good sport about all the speculation. She believed everyone meant well and took it as a sign of goodwill. Paige sometimes accused her of being a workaholic and while Rose did pour a large part of her heart into her work, she knew it wasn’t that.

Rose made space for people when it counted. She never told anyone, but she’d really made space for Finn. A space that she thought he’d wanted to occupy. The truth was that when Rose loved, she didn’t do it by halves, it wasn’t her way. Relationships meant a lot to her, but they didn’t always mean the same to other people. Coming to grips with that difference hurt and sometimes it took a long time to forget.

Despite her disappointments, Rose Tico carried on braving the world, carrying her burdens as best she could, and trying to ease those of others. She was all of 5’2 and presented a very feminine figure, but she was a fighter. No one would guess that she was trying, every day, to save what she loved. 

She was always immaculately turned out in a uniform of well-tailored skirts, heals and well-cut tops, invariably neatly coiffed, her black hair sleek and shiny. This was her armor and battle dress. She wanted students to know that beauty and substance belonged together.

She could still remember the ugliness of war and those memories spurred her to create an ordered way of living in the present. She appreciated the lack of inhibition in her sister and brother-in-law, there could be beauty in that too, but it was not her style. 

She refused chaos and disorder on principle and it was into this carefully constructed cosmos that Armitage Hux, the bad boy of the modern art world, crashed landed. 


	3. "The great artists of the world are never Puritans, and seldom even ordinarily respectable."

The welcome reception for Armitage Hux, artist in residence, was held in New Republic's presidents' mansion and this was just enough incentive for Dr.Tico to attend. 

The mansion was her favorite building on campus since it was conceived and engineered by a woman at a time when such things were almost unheard of. Rose loved pioneers of any kind, especially if they had a legacy. Rose felt a special kinship with the builder and her visits were a way of paying respect to a long-departed kindred spirit.

It was always satisfying for Rose to march up the grand walkway and enter the high-ceilinged foyer of the mansion. The light in the house was amazing and something in Rose’s soul always sang with joy at the expansiveness of the space. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she spied her friend, Jannah, faculty in the history department, and pipeline to all the noteworthy gossip on campus. She would know all about this artist and Rose, in spite of herself, was curious. She made her way over to her through the crowds.

“Jannah! How are the drinks!” Rose called and grabbed one to settle in for a chat with her colleague.

“By the looks of it, free-flowing. We’re really getting into the spirit of our guest it seems.”

“So, is he here?” Rose stood on tiptoe to see above the crowds that mingled about.

“Oh, he’s here. Just wait a minute, you won’t have to strain to see him, he’s a man apart.”

“Meaning?”

“Oh, the usual trail of broken hearts, loves a drink, but the work is genius apparently. Mad, bad, dangerous to know. Catnip to the art crowd.” Jannah laughed.

“He does sound terrible! That’s a relief.” Rose joked.

Soon enough, the man himself came into view. Jannah was not exaggerating, he was arresting. He reminded Rose of a D.H. Lawrence character, aristocratic with long fine limbs, and subtle movements. “Tall, and thin and agile, like an English archer,” Rose murmured to herself. 

He had a kind of easy vibrancy that was evident in his smiles for the people who clustered around him. His hair was a striking red and worn long and disheveled. Strands kept falling into his face so he had to continually push them out of his eyes. He stood a good head taller than most people in the room, not quite as tall as Ben Solo, but not too far off.

“Well, what do we think?” Jannah asked, arching an eyebrow, a mischievous look in her eyes. 

“Handsome in an obvious way, if you go in for that sort of thing.” Rose sniffed.

“A lot of people do apparently.”

“So, I see.”

“Would you like to meet him?” Jannah asked. 

“Not especially. If I’m going to continue to dislike him, in good conscience, I’d rather do it at a distance.” Rose responded dryly. 

As she turned away from Jannah, Ben Solo caught her eye. Rose groaned inwardly; he would force the introduction with that subliminal power he had. How did he do it? He was literally impossible to refuse once she was sucked into his orbit. Rose cursed herself for not staying home after all.

Ben called to her, waving an arm, “Come meet Armitage, Rose.”

Sighing, she bid goodbye to Jannah and reluctantly made her way over to Ben.

Rose did not like to meet people with bad grace, but this Armitage already piqued her. She feared he was just a new toy, pretty, flashy but easily forgotten after the shine wears off. He was likely completely ornamental. In the meantime, adjuncts didn’t have health insurance.

“Rose, this is Armitage Hux,” Ben said

He turned with a smile from the person he was chatting with and looked down at her with large, wide-spaced, green eyes. His look registered surprise or shock, she couldn’t tell which. Rose sighed internally.

People were sometimes taken aback when they met her. Most never pegged her as a professor and definitely not one in engineering. She caulked it up to narrow mindedness, but she expected artists to have a bit more imagination. He was more handsome on closer inspection, which she thought was annoying. If he weren’t so good-looking, he wouldn’t get away with so much.

“How do you do? Please call me Age.” He said, shaking her hand.

“Ben said you were in engineering. You’re not at all what I expected.” He had a clipped British accent but clearly was used to American phraseology.

“Really?” She asked with the barest hint of challenge in her voice, “What were you expecting exactly?"

“You know, I’m not sure.” Armitage laughed, deflecting her question.

“Well,” Ben Solo interjected quickly, “Rose here is one of our leading lights and a good friend to Rey and I, so I hope you’ll find something to chat about because I need to see that donor over there. Ben pointed out an elderly gentleman with a too-young woman on his arm.

“God, his instincts” Rose offered as Ben walked away, “They are incredible, you have to admit. I don’t know how he does it.”

“Mind-tricks,” Armitage suggested.

“Something like that.” She agreed nodding.

They stood a few moments in silence staring at Ben’s back until Rose remembered why she was there.

“So, how do you and Ben know each other?” She asked.

“We went to military academy together.’ Hux said, taking a sip the drink he held.

Rose turned to look at Armitage, it was her turn to register surprise. “Ben never mentioned, and I mean _never_ , mentioned military academy.”

“No, I imagine he wouldn’t. It was hellish. I’ve met his parents, I never understood why he wanted to be there. Most of us didn’t have a choice.”

“Military academy and now you’re an artist,” Rose observed. “What were you saying earlier about the unexpected?”

He smiled, “Yes. I see your point.” 

Armitage found Rose much more interesting than he’d anticipated. When Ben said she was an engineering professor he cringed inwardly. He was expecting someone dull and probably dumpy, but she was an entirely different proposition.

She was small and very lovely with dark, bright eyes, a delicate mouth. She had entrancing figure. If he embraced her, she’d fit neatly under his arm. Even in heels, she didn’t come up to his shoulders. Who knew engineering professors could be charming, he thought.

“What’s your plan for this academic year?"

Her voice broke into his thoughts. 

"Will you put on a lecture or a show? Everyone is over the moon that you’re here. Well, I probably should qualify that, the arts and humanities department certainly is.”

“The engineering department isn’t excited I’m here?” he asked with feigned disappointment.

“The engineering department is busy constructing real worlds, not imaginary ones.” Rose raised her glass to him with a smile.

“Ouch," Hux exclaimed, with a genuine laugh, clutching his heart in mock hurt. 

His eyes lit up at their exchange. Much to his surprise, he was enjoying himself. He decided he could do with more parrying.

He narrowed his eyes at her, “Well, Professor Rose...” He began. 

“It’s Tico, actually,” Rose replied looking up into his face with a smirk.

“Well, Professor Tico, I’ll let you in on a secret.”

He narrowed the space between them as he bent down to whisper softly in her ear. Her hair smelled like a mixture of citrus and fresh air, it was soft as it brushed against his lips. 

“I have no idea what I’ll be doing this semester or the next. I was at rather loose ends. I met Ben and now I’m here. I haven’t thought much beyond that but, perhaps you can help me construct some plans.” 

Hux raised himself to his full height and looked at her face to see the effect of his words. To his gratification, he could see the color rise in her cheeks.

Unfortunately for him, her color was due more to discomfort than anything like pleasure. 

Did he just say what I think he said? Rose thought. She had been enjoying herself despite her misgivings, but she felt a little flame of pleasure extinguish inside her.

She was embarrassed. His gambit was forward and it caught her off guard, especially for a soon to be colleague. What really got to her was his confession of desultoriness. She was disappointed. He wasn’t serious about his time at New Republic, he was going to be a huge waste of time and money like she feared. 

“I hope that’s your idea of a joke.” She responded with a tight voice, her eyes downcast. 

Hux was surprised. Her response was unexpected, to say the least. He wasn’t sure if she was upset about his pass or the admission of professional laxity. She wouldn’t meet his eyes. 

“Listen, Rose,” he began, “I’m sorry. . .”

“No, it’s fine.” She said, her voice low. “I don’t know if you knew, but the campus has invested a lot of money by bringing you here, at the exclusion of other people and projects. This may be a lark for you, but it’s not for those people who aren’t getting funded. Not everyone has the benefit of important connections.” 

“Rose” Hux stammered. “ I-I don’t want you to think. . .”

“Don’t worry. I’m not a Dean.” Rose interrupted him, “I won’t tell anyone and anyway, I need to be going. Welcome to New Republic College. I hope you figure out what you’re doing here. Some people are counting on you." She gave him a tight smile, handed him her glass and walked away.

Hux was confused. He didn’t know how their conversation went off the rails so quickly. He had people disappointed in him before, he was used to it, but this was different. He didn’t think there was actual malice in Rose Tico.

What smarted was that she touched a nerve. He _had_ been coasting on his connections. He’d been tearing through parties, bottles, and women with reckless abandon. He hadn’t done serious work in months.

He didn’t come to New Republic intending to start either. Maybe he had meant to make Rose the beginning of a new spree, or maybe he’d been trying to forget, either way, he didn’t know why, but he felt like he lost his grip on something important. 

After the reception ended, Armitage Hux walked from the president’s mansion to his downtown hotel. After his exchange with Rose Tico, it had been difficult to focus on the events around him. The more he thought about it, the more depressed he got.

He wanted to leave immediately, but as the reception was in his honor there was no way to manage it. He tolerated it by drinking too much and flirting outrageously with anything in sight. Ben Solo looked at him in alarm, but Hux reassured him that he was fine, just blowing off some steam.

When he arrived at his hotel, he made for the bar and asked for a whiskey straight. The bartender looked at him dubiously, Hux was a bit worse for wear already, but the man didn’t have the energy for an argument. The bartender poured him a small drink and hoped for the best. 

At the end of the bar, Hux saw a statuesque blonde smiling at him. He hoped to God she wasn’t a coed as he made his way over to her. At this point, Hux thought, that would be a crowning achievement.

Still, he didn’t intend to spend a quiet night thinking on his sins. He didn’t intend to think at all.


	4. "No one would talk much in society, if he knew how often he misunderstands others."

“Someone made a pass at me,” Rose said into her phone.

“Alright!” she heard Poe exclaim, “You still got it, Rosie! “

“I really wish you wouldn’t let your husband listen to our calls, Paige.”

“Rosie, we’re a two for one deal now. You gotta accept it.” Rose heard Poe interject, his voice muffled in the background.

“Rose, it’s six am, we’re in bed. I’m not going to kick him out, even for you.” Paige answered blearily.

Rose slept badly and while she knew it was terrible to call anyone so early, but she couldn’t stop thinking and needed to hear a reassuring voice.

“What did you do?” Paige asked.

“Scolded him for not having a plan about his time at New Republic.” Rose grimaced. It didn’t sound great when she said it out loud. 

Rose heard Poe groan faintly.

“You know that’s not the usual response in these situations, right?” Paige asked.

“No. I mean, on reflection, yes.”

“Here, let me talk to her,” she heard Poe demand.

“Rosie, what were you thinking?”

“Well, at first he was fun but then he basically admitted to not caring about his work or the college, so it all went south from there.” 

“Who’s the guy anyway? What’s his name?”

“Armitage Hux, the new artist in residence.”

She heard Paige gasp. That did not make Rose feel better.

“Hugs, huh. Interesting name. Is it weird that someone who was having fun couldn’t just enjoy the moment and not blow it up? Where do you think that comes from, Paigey?”

“You’re supposed to be on my side.” Rose protested.

Paige took the phone from her husband.

“Rose, we love you, but we’ve heard you rant about this stuff for weeks before he even got here. Not everyone is as single-minded as you, Sis. Most people are just trying to make their way through the world. I’d say the majority of us.”

Rose heard Poe cut in again. “Plus, he’s an artist, Rosie. Maybe your expectations were a little high? Can you just make nice, even if he doesn’t ask you out again?”

“Well, technically, he didn’t ask me out, it was more like an insinuation,” Rose explained, “A sexy one.” 

She heard them burst into laughter.

“Ha-ha, okay, very funny. Thanks for the support, you two.” 

Rose hung up the phone with a huff. It was probably best if she just forgot about Armitage Hux forever.

*************

Armitage Hux woke up with a start. He didn’t know where he was for a good five minutes and he had no idea who the woman in his bed was. He groaned softly as he kicked his legs out of bed to sit up and held his throbbing head in his hands. He felt slightly dizzy and his mouth was as dry as the Sahara. How many mornings like this had he had in the last six months? To his regret, he couldn’t even count them anymore.

He looked at the clock next to his bed. It was nearly noon and his things were to be delivered to his college rooms at one. He wanted an aspirin, some black coffee, and a shower. He wanted these things quickly and he wanted out of his current situation.

The last thing he needed was more messy entanglements. Unfortunately, that’s all he seemed capable of lately. He forced himself to stagger towards the bathroom. You’ve got to pull it together, old man, he thought. 

*************

Dopheld Mitaka lounged against his car, a cup of coffee in his hand. He was a young, good looking man, with dark brown hair that curled slightly and shrewd brown eyes. He was dressed in black pants, a black t-shirt, and white converse. He was all clean lines and cool fabrics. Glancing at his phone he saw it was fifteen minutes after one. He hoped Hux remembered his appointment today.

Wrangling Hux was becoming a problem. There was only so much he could say to Armitage as a friend, but as his business manager, it was imperative that he be straight with him. Personally, he thought the appointment to New Republic College a godsend. He wanted to keep Hux away from distractions. Things were messy now, but Hux hadn’t entirely lost the plot yet. If he could stay on the straight and narrow and get some work done, they’d both come out on the other side. 

Dopheld remembered their third year at the military academy, Hux went on a similar hell-raising tear. He seemed dead-set on pissing off everyone, instructors, administration, but most especially, his father. Neither of them had much say over their lives then, but Hux was determined to exert some kind of agency, even if it meant self-destruction.

Dopheld was the son of working-class people on a scholarship and couldn’t afford to pull the stunts Hux did back then. For the scion of an important family, the academy had a way of glossing over transgressions and that was the only reason Hux wasn’t expelled. Their long friendship was unlikely in the light of their circumstances, but it endured nevertheless. Dopheld supposed Hux’s affinity for him rested on the fact that he was someone his father wouldn’t approve of. He smiled ruefully at the thought. The sad fact was that Hux spent a lot of time trying to live up to his father’s worst expectations.

As both men made their way through the world, their roads intersected. Hux wanted to carve out a career as an artist, which was something of a miracle, truth be told. Sloane had had a hand in that, Dopheld knew. Unfortunately, Sloane had also recently tried to talk some sense into Hux and failed. More's the pity, he thought.

There'd been a few hungry years for Armitage since he’d been cast off for pursuing art and not working for his father’s military contract business. Hux wanted to go as far as changing his name, but Dopheld advised against it. He knew there was curiosity around the bohemian son of an infamous war profiteer, it would be stupid to lose the notoriety. Hux couldn't afford it. His name was the one inheritance he had from his father, it was a kind of revenge to link it with pursuits the man despised.

Dopheld managed careers and fortunes for a living. It put his military training to use, all the habitual order he imposed was useful for those who normally eschewed it. He had a knack for figures and investments and handled money carefully, like someone for whom resources weren’t infinite. Dopheld had acquired sophistication and taste, but he never really forgot being a scholarship boy. Hux was his first and to date, most famous client, but he managed to pick up others on the strength of their association. Dopheld cut Armitage a lot of slack, he owed him a great deal, and he knew him in a way most people didn’t. He’d made many allowances over the years, but even he had his limits.

“Dopheld!” 

Hearing his name broke into his reverie. Looking up, he saw Armitage making his way to the parking lot where he waited. 

“You’re late, Age and you look like hell,” Dopheld remarked dryly as Armitage approached him. 

Armitage was disheveled and wore a mishmash of clothes that he put together in the dark. His shirt was in sore need of an iron as it was the same one he wore the previous day. His pants kept slipping down his hips without his belt and his shoes felt odd because he had no socks on.

He would have to pick up the rest of his things later. He hoped his room would be empty by then. Hux decided to mention none of this to Dopheld. 

“Thank you. Lovely to see you as well. I feel like hell, if that’s any consolation.” Hux responded.

“It’s a very small one. Come on, let’s get you settled. I fly out tomorrow. Do you know where your rooms are?”

*************

They found Hux’s rooms on the northside of New Republic, near the art building. They were small but well-appointed, with good light for Hux’s work. They brought in a few boxes, the bigger things would be brought by movers. The rooms were furnished in collegiate industrial style but despite that, Dopheld was satisfied. 

There would be no rent to pay for an academic year. That would give Armitage some breathing room. His not working was making finances tight, not dangerously so, but it would allow some time for a surplus to build up again. Hux’s work was still fetching good prices, even slightly higher because no new work had been shown in almost a year, but Dopheld was not about to share that nugget of information with him. 

“Armitage, we need to talk.” Dopheld began tentatively, sitting on one of the stiff chairs. 

Armitage groaned. “I really don’t need a lecture now, Held. I got a telling off last night. I’m not in the mood for another.” He tossed himself onto a couch and covered his eyes with his forearms. 

“Really? By whom? I’d like to shake their hand.”

“Professor here. A beautiful idiot.” 

“Did you hit on her?” 

“Am I so predictable?” 

“Like the rising of the sun, my friend.” Dopheld shook his head. 

Not to be deterred from his point he pushed on, “Seriously, after Pashma left all hell broke loose. I get a broken heart. I do, but It's affecting your work and your income and I don’t want things to get worse.”

Armitage sighed but got up to dig through the boxes they carried in. In one of them he found a manila envelope with his father’s solicitors’ name printed on the top right-hand corner. He handed it to Dopheld. 

“It’s nothing to do with Pashma,” he said as he sat back down on the couch. 

Skimming the documents Dopheld learned that Brendol Hux was in the late stages of lung cancer and was officially cutting his son off from any inheritance. 

“These are dated eight months ago,” he said. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

“What’s there to say? We knew about the money. I don’t want any of it anyway.” 

Dopheld looked at his friend. Hux’s face was impassive, but he gave away more than he knew.


	5. "All the sad young men, drifting through the town, drinking up the night, trying not to drown."

Spring break always cleared out the majority of the student body and staff at New Republic. Rose appreciated the change of pace. It was a relief from the endless busyness of term time. She found that she didn’t want to do much of anything during the holiday, so she resolved to just relax. 

To break her routine she’d begun running through campus to enjoy the temporary stillness and give her body the feeling of freedom it craved. That evening, as she approached her regular detour, she spotted a strange figure on the steps of the student union. Sometimes homeless people cut through campus and it wasn’t out of the norm to see town people or visitors around the buildings, but she was surprised to see anyone out alone on a Friday evening, especially with campus so deserted. As she neared, she caught sight of a head of telltale red hair. 

Armitage Hux?, she thought. It was a jarring to see him. As a rule, Rose purposefully avoided him since the night of his welcome reception, but she did catch bits of gossip about him. He seemed to have settled in and was well-liked.

She was uncertain whether she should just ignore him and keep running. As he came into clearer view, she noticed he was clutching a bottle in a paper bag. Rose slowed her run to a walk. He was drinking. It was odd to see someone drinking on campus. Technically it was prohibited and there were dozens of bars and pubs within walking distance of the college. He didn’t have to drink alone. 

Approaching him, she tentatively called, “Hey, Hux? It’s Rose Tico. Do you remember me?” 

He looked up as she walked to where he sat on concrete steps.

“Hello, Rose,” Hux said, slurring his words a little. “Fancy a drink? No glasses though, you’ll have to drink like this.” He demonstrated by taking a long pull from the bottle.

Rose was taken aback. He seemed really drunk, she thought worriedly. Campus PD would make their evening rounds, but she didn’t know if she should leave Hux to their care. She wondered if he was lucid enough to explain to them who he was. 

“What are you doing out here?” she asked. His eyes were swimming and it seemed like he was having difficulty focusing. 

“Drinking, Rose. I’m getting very drunk.” 

“Yes. I can see that. Doing a great job it seems.” 

“Thank you. See, I can do something right.” He smiled ruefully and took another long drink. 

Rose shook her head. She couldn’t leave him there. She should, but she really just couldn’t. Engineers fixed problems and this was definitely a problem. She wondered where his rooms were and if he had his keys.

“Hux,” She said. “I’m going to take the bottle, okay? I think you’ve had enough.” 

“Okay,” Hux said, “It’s empty anyway.” He tipped it upside down to show he’d drained it dry. 

Rose took it and examining it, saw that it was vodka. He drank the entire bottle. The fact that he was so tall must account for the fact that he hadn’t blacked out cold yet. She put the bottle on the ground.

“Hux,” Rose said as she kneeled in front of him in an attempt to get him to focus. “Where are your rooms? Do you have your keys?” 

“Over there,” he said. He waved his hands in the vague direction Rose had come from. 

Just my luck, Rose thought, Northside. He had to live at the furthest point from where they were. She didn’t know if they’d make it on foot. 

“Do you have your keys?” She asked again. 

“Keys?” Hux asked, confused. 

“Your keys to your rooms. Can you check your pockets for me? Let’s see if you have them.” 

Hux fumbled with his jean pockets but didn’t turn up any keys or even his phone. 

Rose sighed deeply, “Come on, we have to go. Try to get up. " 

"Do we have to?" He groaned.

“Do you want to get picked up by campus police?” She asked. “You haven’t been here that long. You don’t need a scandal.” 

“I’m used to scandal.” he slurred.

“Well, I’m not and you were expensive, remember? We’re not throwing college money away.” 

“I can’t feel my legs, Rose,” Hux complained as he tried to rise to his feet. 

“Oh God,” Rose groaned, “Put your arm around my neck. Come on, you can do it." At least he wasn't a belligerent drunk, she thought. 

She managed to get Hux on his feet. He was thin but solid and two whole heads taller than she was. She cursed her soft heart; she knew she really didn't have to go out of her way like this. 

"Rose," he said. His tone a question mark.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry." 

Rose sighed. She hoped that some coffee and food would sober him up and then he could walk back to his rooms on his own. She would call facilities and they’d let him in. It was lucky that it was spring break, but she still prayed no one saw them. There were always stragglers on campus no matter the holiday. If anyone caught them, there’d be talk and that was the last thing Rose wanted or Hux needed at that point. 

By the time they arrived at Rose’s rooms, she was sweating. Hux was heavy and it had been slow going. They didn’t meet anyone on their way, but it was impossible to tell if there were any prying eyes in the apartments on the upper floors. 

“Okay, you’re just going to stay here. Let me get my key,” Rose said to Hux. She leaned him up against a corner in her entryway so she could fetch her key from under her welcome mat. 

“Tired, Rose.“ Hux mumbled. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let’s not do that!” Rose grabbed Hux as he’d started to fall forward on her back. 

She managed to drag him inside and sat him on her couch. Rose immediately regretted her decision. Hux was fading fast and she was exhausted. She didn’t realize how much work truly smashed people were. She was a lightweight when it came to drinking and she never had to care for someone as far gone as he was.

How long does it take that much vodka to hit a guy this tall? She wondered. Was that bottle the only thing he’d been drinking?

“Hux?” She raised her voice. “You’re going to stay awake, right?”’ Rose padded his cheek as his eyes began to close. 

Hux groaned, “Stop it, Rose.” He shifted his head away from her hand. 

“You can’t fall asleep here. We just need to sober you up. You need to stay awake.”

Hux wasn’t listening. Rose covered her eyes with her palms. She could see he wasn’t going to last much longer. Rose groaned. He was so tall. He wouldn’t even fit on her couch. She’d have to sleep there and give him her bed. Her good deed had somehow spiraled out of control but there was nothing for it. She was in for a penny and now it looked like the pound was due too. 

“Alright, come on, Armitage.” She got him to his feet again. Her bedroom was down a short hallway with her kitchen and bathroom just off to the right. She stopped in front of the bathroom. 

“Age,” she said, shaking him a little, “If you need to go to the bathroom you go here. Are you listening?”

“Uh-huh,” he muttered, his eyes closed. 

“Please, don’t throw up in my bed, Hux. Please, please don’t.” Her voice was pleading as she sat him on it. 

She placed a garbage can next to the bed hopefully. “You can use this okay?” She tapped the can and raised her voice again in hopes he’d hear her subconsciously.

Rose took his shoes off. She wondered if she should do his shirt and jeans. He would have to wear them home tomorrow. She hoped he had underclothes on. She tentatively unbuttoned his shirt to see and to her relief, saw an undershirt. She got his shirt off and hung it on a chair. Biting her lower lip, she loosened his belt and saw boxer shorts. 

“This will teach you to get so plastered. You end up with strange women undressing you.” Rose muttered. Who was she kidding? He probably lived for this kind of thing, she thought. 

His trousers off, she laid him on her pillows. As he settled himself, Hux threw his arm over her neck and pulled her to him. Drunk or not, he was strong. Rose found herself in her bed, face to face with Armitage Hux. She'd forgotten how handsome he was. In repose he looked younger, she fancied she could see the boy he had been. She studied the sharpness of his cheekbones and the almost feminine fullness of his lips. His eyelashes were thick and much lighter than his hair. She resisted the urge to run her finger gently over them. Recalling herself, she pushed herself up from under his embrace. 

After helping Hux, she grabbed her extra bedding, her pajamas and shut the door on him already snoring. Whatever happened, she would have to deal with the fallout in the morning.


	6. "The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning: there is some conversation about child abuse.

When Armitage Hux woke up he had an urgent need to use the toilet and no idea where it was. He staggered from where he lay to the bedroom door and opened it gingerly. He saw a small figure on a sofa in the living room. He called out in a fierce half-whisper, 

“Hey! Hello? Where’s the bathroom?” 

He saw Rose Tico’s face peek over the arm of the sofa. 

“What?” She answered in confusion. She was groggy and without her contacts, she couldn’t see clearly. 

“Rose?” 

“Huh? Bathroom? It’s right there to the right. Just a few steps.”

Rose wiped at her eyes. She wondered what time it was. She found her phone on the floor, read four am on the screen, and groaned. She was so tired she could weep. Hux wasn’t dead, and that was good, but she hoped to God he’d go back to bed and let her sleep some more. 

Instead, he wandered out of the bathroom in his underclothes and socks. 

“What happened?” Hux asked.

“You don’t remember anything?”

“Vague flashes.” 

“You were really drunk and wandered out to the quad. I didn’t want to leave you there for campus police to find, so I brought you here. I thought maybe I could sober you up enough so you could walk back to your rooms. Clearly that didn’t work out.”

His expression was a blur. She moved her legs off the sofa and tapped the seat for him to sit. 

“Would you like to sit here?” Rose said peering at him. “I can’t see very well. I left my glasses in the bedroom and it gives me a headache to squint.” 

Hux sat down next to her. 

“I’m sorry.” he sighed, passing a hand through his hair. 

“Do you do that often?”

“What? Get drunk?” 

“Well, to that level.”

“Just special occasions.” He smiled ruefully. 

“What’s the occasion?” 

“My father's dead.”

A moment passed in startled silence. Rose didn’t think he was joking. She searched his face but couldn’t read it clearly in the shadows. 

“You’re not actually kidding,” Rose said 

“He was a bastard. The world’s better off.”

“But he was your father.” 

“That was bad luck on my part, I’ll admit,” Hux said bitterly. 

Rose looked down at her hands. She was clutching them tightly in her lap.

“I don’t understand.” She said after another pause. 

“You’ve never heard of New Order Industries?” He asked.

“The weapons manufacturers? That’s your family?” Rose said incredulously. 

“Not family in any real sense. I’m the result of an extramarital dalliance on my father’s part. That went over a treat with his wife, I can tell you.” 

Rose looked at Hux with concern. Her mind was struggling to process what he was saying. It was so much information in a very short space of time. It felt like her brain was short-circuiting. His life seemed so charmed when she first met him, but the reality seemed far more complex than she imagined. Maybe Paige was right. She was too single-minded, she forgot to look for nuance in others.

Hux tried to sense Rose’s reaction, but her stillness gave nothing away. He suddenly felt drained. His drinking had eased his inhibition. He realized he didn’t care anymore. He was tired of gauging looks and reading moods. He was tired of adjusting himself to the most minute responses of others. The shadows of the night gave Rose an air of unreality and the darkness felt ripe for confession. The dam inside him broke.

“He was a bully and a coward, Rose.” Hux began, “He picked on those who were weaker than he was. It used to amuse him to call my mother a whore to my face.”

She flinched at his words.

“Brendol wanted to make me into some kind of minion. He wanted a reflection of who he was, an heir who didn’t care about the destruction we wrecked on the world as long as we got paid to do it. But I was too much like my mother. I had her hair and her face. I was more her son than his. He told me I was a weak-willed boy. Thin as a slip of paper and just as useless. Soft, like her. No use to him at all, thank God, but he tried to beat her out of me, to make me stronger. It didn’t work. I didn’t let it. The softness was the only thing I had of her. I wanted to hold on to that part of me that was most like her.”

“Was she not there with you?” Rose asked quietly.

“She died when I was five. She didn’t have the strength or money to fight him. She was just a kitchen worker in the New Order company kitchens. Martelle and Brendol couldn’t have children. They took me instead. I don’t know why. I was a constant reminder of Maratelle’s failure and my father’s infidelity. They took out their respective disappointments on me. ” 

Rose closed her eyes, a pained expression on her face. His descriptions physically hurt her. She couldn’t imagine enduring so much cruelty, especially from family. Her family was her bedrock. After her parent's died she would have gone crazy if it wasn't for Paige. What he described was unimaginable to her. 

"You don’t have to tell me all this. You don't owe me any explanations."

“I want to tell you. I used to be so ashamed, Rose. Of myself and who I was, even if none of it was my fault. I thought maybe I'd done something to deserve it. You’d be surprised at what people will ignore for the very rich but I did have an art teacher at the academy called Sloan. She was fearless. My father was a major donor back then. It could have cost her her job. She knew what was going on, she saw what I looked like when I came back from holidays, just like everyone else did, but she actually confronted him and threatened to expose him. She was the first person to put a paintbrush in my hand. She saved my life. I still see Sloan sometimes, though lately she’s like you, disappointed in me. Insists I’m wasting my talent.” 

“Oh God, Armitage,'' Rose cried, “I’m so sorry. Please forget that night. I’m an idiot. I talk too much about things I don’t know anything about.” 

“No, I’m sorry.” Hux replied, “I didn’t mean to burden you with all this. You didn’t sign up for any of it, did you? Dragging me home to save me from myself?” He gave her a sad half-smile. When he was completely sober he thought he might regret being so forthcoming, but for the moment, it was a relief to share the truth about himself for once.

“Don’t say that,” she said. “You're not burdening me and I’m sorry. I’m sorry for all of it. You're right, you didn’t deserve it. It was wrong. I’m sorry you were alone for so long.” Her words came out in a rush and she felt tears start in her eyes. Rose was tender-hearted for all her capable ways.

She laid her hand gently on his forearm, she couldn’t trust herself to say more.

Hux looked down at her hand, it seemed impossibly small and delicate to him, beautiful even. He was attracted to her the first night they’d met and was attracted to her still. He’d put her out of his mind angrily as an impossibility, but he was not posturing anymore. Her kindness warmed and touched him. He wanted her close and he longed for the comfort of her body just then. He took her small hand into his own and pulled Rose to his side, slipping his arm around her shoulders. It was an invitation into an embrace. Rose felt her heart quicken as he brought her to his side. She let her arm slide around him and rested her head on his chest. She could feel the rise and fall of his breathing.

Rose closed her eyes and tried to steady her own breath. She was frightened at the desire that was growing inside her. Her chest felt heavy with sadness, but also with longing. She didn’t think he was entirely sober. She didn’t know what he would feel in the bright light of the morning. She was confused but it had been a long time since she’d been held in this way. It had been long since she’d talked to someone so honestly and so close to the bone. There were so many feelings for her to work through and the complications of his old grief and new. Competing impulses crowded in on her at once. 

“Rose?” Hux said, after a few moments of silence. 

“Yes?” Her voice sounded thick and strange even to herself. She lifted to her head to look at him.

He leaned forward to kiss her. It was a tender, exploring kiss. Rose felt his hand in her hair. She felt desire begin coursing through her. Her heart beat rapidly, she felt her control ebbing away. 

He spoke against her lips, “Will you come to bed with me?” He made the request simply and began to nuzzle her neck, inhaling her scent.

She groaned but answered him with equal candor. 

“I want to.” 

“But?” he asked, withdrawing his lips to look at her. 

“But it wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“No?”

“No,” Rose said, shaking her head. With tremendous effort, she removed herself from his embrace to sit at his side again. She felt electrified, every part of her body on alert. 

“I’m scared I might burn up like a piece of flash paper. The kind magicians use? You’d only be warm for a moment and after that flash of light, there’d be nothing of me left.”

“So enigmatic for a plain-spoken engineer,” He said, smiling a little. 

Rose looked at him earnestly, “It’s just that I don’t want to lose this, whatever it is, when morning comes. Do you understand? You’re going through so much and you’ve been drinking. I don’t know if you know what you're doing.”

Armitage took her hand in his again. It was so small his fingers engulfed it. It was a determined little hand. He thought perhaps that he would allow it to lead him in this one thing. He sighed as he lifted her hand to his lips for a kiss. 

It had cost Rose to say what she did. She felt regret even as she uttered the words, but she knew she spoke the truth. She did not want to slip into love alone, not again. She did not want his grief to take him to a place he wouldn't want to reside. She didn’t know where he stood. She wasn’t sure if he knew it himself. 

“Maybe just take some time. I’ll still be here. I’m not going anywhere,” Rose said. 

She leaned in to kiss him. It was an offering and a kind of promise at once. He took her into his arms. She felt something wet against her lashes. Breaking the kiss, she realized it was his tears. 


	7. "Who doesn't desire his father's death?"

_“I swear I saw him do the walk of shame during spring break!”_

_“Bruh! Are you serious right now?”_

_“Professor Hux from Dr. Tico’s?”_

_“Am I dead? Have I died? Is this heaven?”_

_“Lowkey, this is the best day of my life!”_

Rose cringed when campus gossip inevitably made it back to her. Someone had spotted Age and the news was making the rounds. While Rose wasn’t exactly thrilled, she supposed that it was better than tales of his drunken spree being the focus. Rose was generally thought of as a straight-laced person, so there was a measure of disbelief about the whole thing. Thankfully that provided some cover with campus administration. She hoped a rumored fling was less damaging than the truth, at least for Hux. There was also the added bonus of being able to answer, with more or less honesty, that nothing beyond a few kisses took place, perhaps omitting the kisses altogether. Her colleagues, of course, were incredulous, but Rose was determined to stick to her story. 

“Rose, you’re not serious? Nothing happened?” Jannah and Rey would not let the matter drop. She saw that her colleagues happened to find themselves in the engineering wing and her office much more than usual. 

“Jannah, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it is really the truth. We talked, there’s not much to tell.” 

Rey looked dubious. “He was at your place all night?”

“Only because he was locked out late and it was spring break. He didn’t want to bother facilities. I just offered to help when I ran into him. We slept in separate rooms,” Rose replied with an innocent look. 

“There wasn't even a little kissing?” Rey suggested, cupping her chin in her hands as she leaned on Rose’s desk.

Rose laughed and shook her head. 

Jannah snorted, “You’re a paragon of virtue, Dr. Tico. Frankly, I would have tried something.” 

The women laughed as they walked out of her office. 

Rose also failed to mention the small package she found in her staff mailbox the previous week. When she opened the brown paper wrapping, she found a beautifully painted miniature of several roses in a glass vase. The flowers were a lush, delicate pink that seemed at the peak of their bloom. The accompanying note contained a simple message:

_For their namesake. ~A._

The gift stunned Rose a little. It was an incredibly thoughtful and personal gesture. It would have taken him a great deal of time and effort to produce. The fact that he did might mean that he did not resent her for pumping the breaks on whatever it was that was happening between them. Every time she glanced at the little canvas a small flame of joy inside her burned a little brighter. She wrote him a short note in return. 

_Age, this is one of the loveliest things I’ve ever received. Thank you seems inadequate somehow, but thank you. ~ Rose. P.S. Not to be crass, but how much would this go for on eBay? Are we talking proctor compaction apparatus money?_

Hux turned the card over in his hand and chuckled. The fact was that the painting might fetch a few thousand dollars for its rarity, but more to the point, the gift had had the desired effect. Rose understood she was on his mind, that's all that mattered. He had been preoccupied with Brendol’s funeral. He wanted to stop wasting time. 

**_******_ **

The burial was a large affair held on the Hux family estate. It had all the solemnity befitting the death of an important man of the world. Hux smirked at all the well-heeled attendees. He knew that most of them hated his father and they’d likely dance on his grave if given the chance. Individuals in the war profiteering business were not known for warm collegial feelings and his father was hardly one to inspire them in life much less in death. Maratelle should have hired mourners if she sought demonstrations of grief, Hux thought. 

Hux and Dopheld stood at the gravesite, solemn in their dark suits and sunglasses. People looked at Hux askance, surprised to see the prodigal return. Maratelle shot daggers at him when she spotted him but would not risk making a scene lest she spoil her turn as the aggrieved widow. Hux hadn’t been exactly invited. It was all Dopheld’s doing. He suggested Hux attend and offered to accompany him. 

“You’re mad. Why would I go? I’m glad he’s dead, you know that.”

“I think there’s a lot of things you need to face and a lot of things you need to bury apart from your father.” 

Dopheld wanted Hux to tally up the emotional costs of hating his father. If it meant going to see the monster buried they would do it. 

Armitage Hux lost a myraid of things as Brendol’s son and he’d kept a running catalog in his heart of every cruelty, every blow, every year he passed without his mother. When Armitage was a boy and had no power he’d wasted time trying to avoid his father’s wrath. Since it had been impossible, when Hux grew in strength and size, he’d spent his time provoking his father’s ire. 

As much as Hux hated Brendol, he’d nevertheless defined himself against him. It was like trying to gather light from a warped moon. The parts of his mother he chose to cultivate, while a tribute and a salvation, were also pursued out of spite. His career, though profitable and satisfying, was also a revenge. As much as Armitage wanted to forget his father, he carried him along with him as a kind of self-imposed Sisyphean curse. 

The hate Armitage cultivated, his burning anger had brought him no satisfaction and certainly no peace. As Hux watched dirt shoveled over his father’s casket he understood what Dopheld meant. He could no longer afford to let Brendol impact his life. Armitage’s hyper-focus on his anger had made him his own torturer. As soon as the last shovel of dirt hit the grave, Hux walked away, ready to leave the terrors of his father behind. The dead would have to bury their dead, his place was with the living. 

***************

When Armitage returned to college his first act was the painting for Rose Tico. It was the first solid work he’d done in months. A miniature wasn’t much, but he had to start somewhere. His next task was to seek out the advice of Ben and Rey. As good friends of Rose’s they would have some insight for wooing. He called what he intended to do just that, an old fashioned word for someone he thought of in an essentially romantic way. He intended to woo the hell out of her. His playboy of the western world act didn’t work, he’d tried it. 

He asked Ben and Ray to dinner, an occurrence that took Ben by surprise. He’d met Armitage at business meetings and alum functions, but never socially. 

They met at the Red Tavern, a well-regarded restaurant in the community, and a usual haunt for faculty and staff. 

“You’re probably wondering why I asked you here.” 

Ben and Rey exchanged a look.

“Yes, to be honest. Ben said you’re not generally in the habit of meeting socially.” Rey responded. 

“No, he’s right. I have to apologize for that, Solo. I am unusually self-involved.” 

“Don’t apologize, our paths didn’t cross much.” 

“I have to thank you for this opportunity to be at New Republic. It’s been good for me, and I can’t be anything but grateful, but the real reason I brought you here was to ask you both about Rose Tico.” 

Rey gasped and whispered fiercely as she leaned across the table, “Are the rumors true?"

Ben looked over at her triumphantly. 

‘Well, not as torrid as perhaps students would like to believe. Didn’t Rose mention it?” Hux asked. 

“She wasn’t terribly forthcoming.” Rey admitted, “For all my efforts, she’s been pretty tight-lipped.” 

“She can be very private about some things,” Ben added.

They looked at Hux with expectation. 

Hux shifted in his seat nervously and took a drink of his wine. 

Clearing his throat he said, “I just wanted to get a sense of what was important to her. We didn’t start off on the best foot and our last meeting wasn’t under ideal circumstances either, so I’d like things to be different, next time around.” 

Ben felt Rey squeeze his knee in excitement. She clearly was enjoying this development. 

“So, there’s going to be a next time?” Rey asked.

Hux could feel his body go warm. He was afraid he was blushing. He’d thought he’d left his adolescent responses behind him. 

“Well, with your help, I hope so.” He smiled nervously.


	8. "For love, all love of other sights controls, And makes one little room an everywhere."

“You’re a dark horse, Armitage Hux.” Rose Tico said, leaning against the door frame of the art classroom. 

Hux sat on a miniature chair next to an adorable little black girl, her sweet face full of concentration as she dabbed at her canvas, her chubby hands were smudged with colorful paint. 

He looked up and rose from his chair. Behind him, a group of kindergarteners made a quiet roar as they attacked their own canvases. 

Rose smiled, “What are you doing here? This is the last place I expected to find you.” 

Hux wiped his hands on his shirt as he approached her. 

“I teach classes here. Didn’t you know?” 

“No, I completely missed it. The semester is in full swing, I’m surprised you have the time.”

“I think a visiting artist might have more leeway in his schedule than a professor.” He grinned, “And when they’re this young there’s not much prep involved. Maz said its great PR for the campus as long as I keep them alive and not too much paint ends up on the floor.”

Rose smiled at him. The abundant light from the windows behind him lit his hair aflame. He looked like an Apollo made flesh. She was so happy to see him in the place she loved. 

“What are you doing here?” Hux asked. “This isn’t your usual get up.” He pointed at her work clothes. Gone were the polished skirts and high heels. Instead, she wore a khaki coverall along with sensible work boots. A well-used tool belt slung around her hips. 

“I’m here to check on the solar panels,” Rose smiled. “Maz called me because she suspects some of the wiring is malfunctioning. I thought I’d come over and see for myself since I’m not teaching today.”

“I hear you’re responsible for this place. It’s impressive.” 

It’s my design, but we had a lot of help from the campus community. Ben Solo was a huge help in getting it funded. It really was an all hands on deck situation.” 

“Mr. Hugs! Mr. Hugs!,” the little girl whom Armitage had been helping, shouted. “Shawn is putting paint on Gerry’s picture and he said not to!” 

The little girl’s cries truncated their conversation. 

“Right, India. I'm coming,” Hux called. 

I’d better get back. They’ll start painting each other next.” 

Rose laughed. “I don’t doubt it.”

She lightly touched Armitage's sleeve, “It’s really good to see you. You seem better.” 

Armitage smiled down into her eyes. Her look was open and sincere. It made his heart swell. 

“That’s because I’m sober isn’t it?” He joked. “Your bar is very low.”

“No, I mean it. I’m really glad.”

Hux took her words as a cue. He wouldn’t waste any more opportunities. 

“Are you free after this? Do you want to show an impractical artist how engineers construct worlds? 

“Only if you don’t remind me of the ridiculous things I’ve said.” Rose chided him. “I’ll check-in with Maz first. I’m not sure how long I’ll be, but I’ll circle back.” She looked at her watch. “If it’s nothing major I can usually knock out the wiring in a half-hour.” 

“Is that a boast?” Hux asked, teasing.

“It’s a promise,” Rose replied with a wink. 

Hux watched her depart. He thanked the solid advice of Bey and Rey for bringing him to New Hope. Armitage Hux had never been much of a believer in the collective. The life of the artist was generally a solitary one and he hadn’t much capacity for giving to others in the past, but Rose was a giver. Rey and Ben said she found the most meaning in service and he was determined to pursue the things closest to her heart. 

Rose made her way to Maz Kanata’s office. Maz was the director of New Hope Community Center and a force of nature. She was even more diminutive than Rose, but dressed as regally as a queen. She affected folk dresses with wooden jewelry and Spanish combs in her head wraps. Nothing escaped her keen eye. She ran the center with a mixture of homey wisdom and genuine warmth. She managed to produce order out of chaos for all the people who made New Hope a part of their daily lives. 

“Rosie!” Maz called on seeing her walk into her office, “I didn’t expect to see you! I thought you might send one of those nice college boys, but I guess you’ll do.” 

“I hope you're not too disappointed”, Rose laughed, as she walked over to hug the small woman in her chair. 

“Oh, I think I’ll survive. Seems like we’re getting a lot of your college people here lately. Do you know Mr. Armitage Hux?” 

“We’re acquainted, yes,” Rose said, smiling. 

“A real gentleman. He’s giving art classes for free, even for the little ones. He’s a famous artist. I looked him up. A more generous man I’ve never met. The children just love him and he’s oh, so careful with the space. I thought you’d appreciate that.”

Rose felt her cheeks warm at the praise. Maz was a keen judge of character. Her approval of Armitage meant something. 

“Yes, and he’s going to do a project for us! A mural! On the common room wall and the children are going to help paint it. His paintings are very expensive, so I’d say we’re getting a bargain. We’re all very excited.” 

“Wait, Maz, what do you mean? You can’t mean him to paint on my walls?” Rose asked, slightly taken aback. 

“Your walls, honey? Last I checked you gave them to us.” 

Rose shook her head. “I just mean that this building is not meant to house that kind of art. We’d have to consider functionality. What if the mural gets damaged? The insurance alone could be astronomical.” 

“It will be fine. Don’t you worry. Mr. Hux and I have already discussed it. He said we can manage placement carefully so that it won’t be disturbed.”

“Most parents are here early so I decided to end class.” Hux walked into the office without realizing they were both there. He noticed the women’s serious faces and his smile faded from his lips. 

“Maz just told me about your plan?” Rose said, turning to Hux, “I’m disappointed you didn’t consult me.” 

Hux shot a confused look at Maz. 

“Rosie here is not too sure about our mural, Mr. Hux. Perhaps you can explain to her while she checks the panels?” 

Rose turned on her heel and stalked out of Maz’s office. 

“Follow her, Armitage. Tell her why you wanted to do this. She’ll come round. She’s very protective of the space, but she’s not unreasonable.”

Hux nodded and jogged to catch up with Rose who was headed to the battery room at the back of the center. 

“Rose, wait!” He called after her. 

He walked into the chilly room lined with large grey lockers. He found Rose at the back, already working on a section of wiring. 

“Rose, will you let me explain?” He said, standing at the door of the locker, his hand gripping the top.

“I honestly didn’t think you’d have any objection to the idea.”

“That’s obvious,” Rose responded through clenched teeth. 

“Will you look at me? Help me understand.”

Rose huffed. “Imagine that I saw one of your paintings and I decided to add a bumper sticker to it or something. You’d be appalled right? 

“Probably, but it’s not the same thing, not really.” 

“Maybe it’s not to you, but this building is important to me! There’s a purpose to every element of its design! Plus, you didn’t even ask me and now I’ll be the bad guy if I object!” Rose’s last words caught in her throat. She willed herself not to cry, she hated that her anger presented as tears. 

Armitage’s heart clenched at the hitch in her voice. The last thing he wanted was to upset her.

“Rose, I didn’t realize. I thought I was helping, adding something of value. I asked Rey and Ben and they said you loved this place, so I thought you’d be happy. We don’t have to do anything you don’t like.”

Rose sniffed. “You asked Ben and Rey?”

“Yes. I’m here because of you. I wanted to show you I wasn’t just some drunken cock-up who hit on women indiscriminately. I wanted to do something to help the center. Something for you.” 

He ran his hands through his hair and cursed himself inwardly. This was was not how he pictured saying any of this. 

Rose’s tears started running quietly down her face, her anger giving way to sadness. “Poe is right, I can’t enjoy things. I have to blow everything up.” 

Armitage looked confused. “Who’s Poe, Rose? What are you talking about?”

He sighed and took Rose in his arms, he felt her crying against his chest for a few moments, then he cupped her tear-stained face and looked into her eyes.

“Rose, I would never deliberately hurt you. I want you to give me a chance to show you the kind of man I can be.” 

“Do you really want that? Look at me, you want to do something kind and I rip your head off.” 

“You’re not perfect.” Hux shrugged.

“That’s an understatement.” 

“Sue me, I like you. I’m going to give you the benefit of the doubt.”

“Paige says I’m a control freak.”

“I see. Paige and Poe’s opinions mean a lot to you. Who are they, by the way?”

“My sister and brother-in-law.”

“Ah. Perhaps you take the opinions of others too much to heart?”

“I think I might be a control freak too,” Rose said wiping her nose on her sleeve. 

They both laughed at her admission.

“That’s a predicament, isn’t it?”

Hux closed the locker door and sat on the floor against it. He pulled Rose down next to him and put his arm around her.

“I don’t have answers but I know from experience that the more I try to control, the more things usually go sideways. Case in point, today.” 

‘You can say that, you’re an important painter. If you screw up it makes you more interesting, if I screw up I’d just be some washed-up lady engineer who can’t hack it. I feel like such a fraud.” 

“I think on some level we all feel like frauds, don’t you think?” Hux asked. 

“I don’t think you’re a fraud. You’re a miracle. After everything with your father, you can still create and you don’t seem so damned tied up in yourself.” 

Hux smiled. “Let me disabuse you of some of these notions. The reason my business manager brought me to New Republic was because I was in the process of blowing up my career. I suspect I’ve been a few morning drinks away from being a full-fledged alcoholic. Love, tenderness, it all unsettled me. That Casanova act you saw was meant to hide how scared I was. I was more comfortable with cruelty and indifference. We all carry stuff, Rose, some of us are just better at hiding. Look on the bright side, at least you're sober.” 

Rose laughed through her tears. 

“You’re talking to a man you had to help take his trousers off. I won't hold anything against you.”

“No?”

“No. I rather like you. More than I've ever liked anyone, I think. My expression just needs work.”

"I like you too. A whole lot actually."

"Yes?"

Rose nodded. "More than anyone else."

She pulled away from Hux’s shoulder, she'd cried a large watery spot into his arm. 

“I’ve ruined your shirt,” She lamented, wiping her nose on her sleeve again. 

Hux smiled, “It doesn’t matter. It’s an old one, for painting with kindergarteners or crying with engineers.” 

Standing, he took her hand to lift her up.


	9. "The bride hath paced into the hall, Red as a rose is she."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to Dorothy L. Sayers whose Busman's Honeymoon, circa 1937, inspired this chapter.

_I’m so hyped for this wedding!_

_Do you think, like, we made it happen? Like, we put it out into the Universe and it answered us?_

_Girl, we can't even ourselves dates, tho'._

_Oh yeah._

_Anyways, guess who got their invites?_

_Women in Engineering, holla at me!_

_I’m so glad we’re smart._

_Girl, same!_

**************

**New Message**

Recipients:cphasma@firstorder.co.uk

Subject: Re: News 

Dear Phasma,

Apologies for the delayed response to your last, as you can imagine I’ve had my hands full. To answer your question, the engagement was as much a surprise to me as it was to you, but you know Age, once he gets something into his head he’s determined. It's him all over. I think he’s finally decided to try happiness and that’s a change for the better. You of all people knew what he was contenting with re: Brendol. 

In any case, I don’t blame you for jumping ship, he wasn’t in any kind of shape for a relationship. I think he was surviving or running, maybe a bit of both. That’s not the kind of advice people will listen to in the middle of things, but I’m glad there are no hard feelings between you. I hope that means you’ll come to the wedding? I’d like to meet your new paramour. I imagine you as two Amazons. 

Rose is a dream. I might be a little bit in love with her myself. Likely out of sheer gratitude. She’s just the sort to keep Armitage steady, which as you know, has been a too large part of my own life. The thought of finally turning him over someone else's care is a relief. 

Age’s work output is tremendous. Collectors are salivating, so I’d say things are turning out splendidly. I take all the credit for the match by the way. New Republic was my idea. I hate to trumpet my own horn, but you have to admit I’m exceptional at my job. I have been asked to be best man and I accepted with a humility I didn’t feel. It’s supposed to be a very wholesome affair. Lots of kindergarteners. I wasn’t exaggerating when I say the change in him has been marked. 

Talk soon. 

Yours,

Held 

**************

“Hugs!” Poe enveloped Armitage Hux in a hearty embrace. “Welcome to the family!” 

“Err. . . it’s Hux, with an x”, Armitage corrected. 

“That’s what I said, isn’t it?” responded Poe, with a conspiratorial wink at Rose. 

"You'll need to get it right. It’ll be my name too, soon.” Rose chimed in, smiling up at Hux and squeezing his hand.

“You’re moving quickly with the wedding,” Paige noted a little worriedly as they walked into the living room to sit down. 

“It’s been a whole academic year,” Rose responded. 

“But you weren’t talking for half of it,” Paige pointed out.

“We’ve made up for lost time,” Rose laughed. 

“We thought of waiting. . .” Armitage began. 

“There didn’t seem to be a point.” Rose shrugged, “We’d already made ourselves a scandal and a hissing.” 

“I thought it would be more seemly to make an honest woman out of her as soon as possible.” Hux’s eyes were full of mischief. 

"Dopheld practically begged me to take him off his hands. The poor man needs a break.” Rose countered. 

“In the end, we thought we’d just please ourselves.” Hux smiled.

"I guess when you know, you know,” Poe replied, taking Paige’s hand into his own. "Why argue with that?" 

**************

**Extracts from the Diary of Paige Tico Dameron**

**May 1st**

_Rosie and her fiancee just left. I can’t believe I just wrote that. Poe says he likes Armitage, but I think he just likes giving the man a hard time. He seemed nice enough, a little wilder than Rosie’s usual type. I never pictured her with an artist. Maybe another engineer like her or a scientist. Someone, I hate to say it, a little boring. I think that’s why it didn’t work with Finn. He’s the type that wanted to chase women through deserts and Rosie just wanted to build houses for the poor. It was a fundamental disconnect.  
_

_I’ve been big sister worried ever since she told me about the engagement. It seems like they are fast-tracking the whole thing and that’s just not much like Rosie either._

_Age helped with the dishes, which was nice, even if he was just trying to score points. He told me that he loved Rosie and thought he was lucky she loved him back. He said that it wasn’t probably obvious, but they were a lot alike. He said they understood each other and that she was safe with him._

_I think he honestly meant it? He’s got these green eyes that seem very sincere and open. He’s an artist, not an actor, right? I told him I’d kill him if he hurt her and that I had the military training to back the threat up. He laughed, but I wasn’t joking. Poe says Rosie knows what she wants and we should trust her, which I do. It’s just such a change from those six a.m. calls. I guess my baby sister is grown up and_ _getting married_ _!_

**_May 4th_ **

_I wish Mẹ and Cha were still with us. It’s times like these that I feel their absence the most. I want to focus on Rosie’s happiness but I can’t help feeling sad. I know Rosie feels it too. She took Age to leave flowers at our parents grave. I was worried it would be too macabre for him, but she says he understands grief. It’ll be six years next month since the car accident. Mostly we’re getting by okay in spite of everything. With Age, we’ll be a family of four again. It won’t be quite the same, but it’ll be good for Rosie. She never complained, but I know it was hard on her as the youngest. She's asked Poe to give her away. It’s going to be a simple wedding, quaker-like is what Rosie said. On-campus of course. It feels like it’s going to be more a party than a wedding. Poe approves. My husband never met a party he didn’t like. Not long to go now. . ._

**************

**The New Republic Herald**

-An Independent Student News Source

**No Cap, But a Gown**

**ViVi Ocho, Staff Writer**

May 30th

As graduation ceremonies came to an end at New Republic College, there was one last celebration to be had. The day of the much-anticipated wedding of professor Dr. Rose Tico to campus artist in residence, Artimage Hux arrived. The couple, who met at a campus reception, generously hosted many student organizations, faculty, and staff, as well as families from the New Hope Community Center. The center holds a special place in Dr. Tico’s heart and now houses a special mural painted by Mr. Hux. 

Campus grove served as the location for both the wedding and the reception for the approximately one hundred people who attended. The bride wore a white tea-length gown along with a crown of pink roses in her hair. She was attended by her sister, Paige Tico-Dameron, and Mr. Dopheld Mitaka, a colleague of Professor Hux, served as the best man. 

The ceremony itself was simple, if solemn, and was only interrupted by the appearance of Milli, the campus cat who made a fleeting appearance by running over the groom's feet during the exchange of rings. Guests, along with the bride and groom, erupted in laughter.

College President, Leia Organa, also in attendance, commented, “We are so happy for Dr. Tico and Mr. Hux. We’re delighted that he’ll be a permanent part of our campus community. We’re not losing a professor, we’re gaining an artist.” 

Guests celebrated the couple into the early hours despite the appearance of campus PD after a noise complaint. Fortunately, campus Chief of Police Chewie was an invited guest and could assure officers that the festivities would continue at a lower decibel. 

The professor and the once-notorious playboy artist plan to make their home in married faculty housing after a honeymoon in Arkanis, a small town off the coast of England where Mr. Hux was born. Mr. Hux plans to teach art classes part-time at New Hope Community Center while devoting the rest of his time to his artistic endeavors. Dr. Tico intends to continue with her courses in the fall and expects to be at New Republic for a long while. The wedding of the Tico-Huxes was a unique cap to a lively academic year and will certainly go down as a red-letter day in college history.


	10. "We build our temples for tomorrow, strong as we know how, and we stand on top of the mountain, free within ourselves."

**Epilogue**

Arkanis was as rainy as Hux recalled. He was doubtful when Rose suggested it as their honeymoon location. While the landscape had a kind of brutal, wild beauty, the weather was generally dismal, even in summer. There would be no swimming and their walks would have to be intermittent, to be chased down when the sun made its rare appearance. Despite all this, he found Rose reveled in the place and after all, she pointed out with an arch look, they might not need to leave their rooms at all. 

“You’re my husband, dummy.” She teased, planting a passionate kiss on his mouth as she rose in the morning, like a dark-haired Aurora from their marriage bed. “Where else would I want to be but here? With you?” 

Hux was startled by her sudden vocal declarations of her passion for him. Her exuberant acclimations never seemed to crest. She would praise the way his wedding band sat on his finger, the sheen of his hair, what she termed the elegance of his walk, the turn of his wrist when he held a paintbrush.

“You’re developing an artist's eye, wife.” He said as they laid in bed together on their third married morning.

“Do you think so?” she replied smiling into his green eyes. “I think I must be in love. Everything looks beautiful to me. Especially you.” 

In response, he ran a finger down her delicate face. He enjoyed the soft downiness of her skin and the contrast of his pale hand against her tawny cheek. His finger stopped at her full lips. She opened her mouth and bit him gently. Her eyes flashed an invitation and a challenge. The soft wetness of her tongue inflamed him with sudden momentous desire. This was the pattern of their lovemaking, flashes of light, quickened desire, a fire that burned at the slightest provocation, and in the end, sated relief. 

While Rose became more vocal in marriage, Hux was struck dumb. Still, every caress they shared he banked into his heart’s geography. The curve of her breast, the weight of her small body as she sat astride him, the sensation of her bare skin against his own served as signposts out of the wilderness where he’d once resided. She was now his sure home. 

He understood that he’d played at love in an attempt to forget the past, and his art had been the means to capture the waking nightmares that haunted him. There were not enough distractions in the world to blot out the memories of his pain, but he could fashion new markers and let them illuminate another way forward. 

Rose, for her part, liked Arkanis more than she anticipated. She found it enlightening to see the place where Armitage spent his youth. She felt the turmoil of the sea echoed in the man who attempted to drown his sorrows in the relentless tides of life. There was something in the howling wilderness of Arkanis that resonated in her own heart. Any soul that knew grief would understand the terrible loneliness of this wild sea, she thought. Still, she had ceased to be so terrified by wastelands. She knew she could face her own heart breaking sorrows because, at their ebb, she found his love, an unexpected gift. 

She had taken to rising in the pre-dawn hours before Hux awoke to witness the crashing chaos of sea and wind. She liked to open their large window to feel the shocking cold of the rain mingled with the salt spray that carried up to their room. 

“Rose?” 

She heard Hux call her name and turned to see him standing in their bedroom doorway, his arms folded against his bare chest. 

“What are you doing?” 

“Watching.” 

He walked to stand behind her. His arms enveloping her body against himself. 

“It’s freezing.” He said. 

“I know, but I like it. I’ve never seen anything quite like this. I’ve been to the seaside but this is something else entirely.” 

“Yes. People say that.”

“You make more sense to me now that I’ve seen this.” 

“Really?” He said, kissing her windblown hair. “How?”

“The high tolerance for chaos you had. I think growing up here the whole world was a wild place. There’s little safety in these harbors. ”

“No. Not much. Nor in some homes either.” He murmured. 

Rose wrapped his arms around her tighter. 

“Good thing you’ve married a master builder. I’ll construct something for us nothing can batter.”

“Well then,” Hux said, sweeping Rose up in his arms and walking back towards the bedroom. “What will we fill this fortress with? I rather have my heart set on a few copies of you, perhaps with my height.”

Rose laughed. 

“Let’s go back to bed and give it the old college try, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that's all she wrote, folks. A triumph of hope over experience. Shout out to those of you who do this regularly, this is hard work! Thank you again for those who've taken the time to read this. I appreciate you more than I can say!


End file.
